Senior TDP leader and former Andhra Pradesh minister Devineni Rajasekhar alias Nehru today died of a heart attack in Hyderabad.
Rajasekhar, 63, was suffering from a kidney problem for the past few months and was admitted to a private hospital in Hyderabad a few days ago.
He was discharged from the hospital two days ago but he suddenly got a heart attack this morning and died.
His body was brought to Vijayawada in the afternoon. The cremation will take place tomorrow.
Nehru began his political career as a student union leader and founded the United Students Organisation.
An ardent admirer of Telugu Desam Party founder N T Rama Rao, Nehru joined the TDP at its inception in 1982 and became an MLA in 1983.
He won the state elections in 1985, 1989 and 1994 as a TDP candidate from Kankipadu constituency in Krishna district.
He was made the Education Minister in the NTR Cabinet in 1994.
He remained a close confidant of NTR till his demise in January 1996.
In 1997, Nehru joined the Congress and for the first time lost the 1999 election.
He was again elected as an MLA from Kankipadu in 2004 but lost the 2009 and 2014 elections.
In September last year, he returned to the TDP.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu condoled Nehru's death and termed it a "personal loss."
AP Legislative Council Chairman A Chakrapani, Assembly Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, Deputy Chief Minister (Home) N China Rajappa, Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, Pradesh Congress Committee president N Raghuveera Reddy and several others expressed grief over Nehru's death.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)